This Pennsylvania city is one of the ‘dirtiest in America,’ report finds
A city’s cleanliness is one of the key components of both residents’ quality-of-life and health, as evidenced by the recent strike in Philadelphia that left trash piling on the streets. Unfortunately for residents in this other Pennsylvania location, their city is one of the top five dirtiest in the entire...
At this summer camp run by grandmas, kids learn cooking skills and life advice
LOS ANGELES — The smell of frying garlic and ginger is inescapable as it wafts through the room, while a row of fidgety kids watches an older woman in a blue plaid apron cooking in front of them. “When I was growing up my mom used to make this a...
Brutal arrest of Black student in Florida shows benefits of recording police from new vantage pointVideo
A video that captured the brutal arrest of a Black college student pulled from his car and beaten by officers in Florida has led to an investigation and calls for motorists to consider protecting themselves by placing a camera inside their vehicles. William McNeil Jr. captured his February traffic stop...
‘They roll right over’: Many Democrats call their party weak and ineffective, AP-NORC poll finds
WASHINGTON — Many Democrats see their political party as “weak” or “ineffective,” according to a poll that finds considerable pessimism within Democratic ranks. Republicans are more complimentary of their party, although a small but significant share describe the GOP as “greedy” or say it is generally “bad.” The poll conducted...
Rescue workers in Chile find the body of one of 5 miners trapped in a copper mine
BOGOTA, Colombia — Rescue teams found a body inside a section of a Chilean copper mine that collapsed two days earlier during a moderate earthquake, the mine’s director said Saturday. Rescuers have been trying to reach five miners who were trapped Thursday evening in the El Teniente mine in central...
Weakened Gil now a tropical storm in the eastern Pacific with no threat to land expected
MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Gil weakened into a tropical storm in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Saturday and was not forecast to threaten land. The Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm’s maximum sustained winds dropped to 65 mph. It was about 1,440 miles west of the southern tip...
Britain hopes a crackdown on people-smugglers’ social media ads will help curb Channel crossings
LONDON — Britain says people who advertise fake passports or people-smuggling services on social medial could face up to five years in prison, in the government’s latest effort to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. The government said Sunday that anyone convicted of creating online materials...
Pope Leo XIV tells 1 million Catholic youths that they are ‘the sign a different world is possible’
ROME — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday told more than a million Catholic youths at a closing Mass for a weeklong encounter with the next generation of faithful that they are “the sign that a different world is possible” where conflicts can be resolved with dialogue, not weapons. In his...
Israeli minister prays at flashpoint holy site as officials report 27 aid-seekers killed in Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A far-right Israeli minister visited and prayed at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site on Sunday, triggering regional condemnation and fears that the provocative move could further escalate tensions. The visit came as hospitals in Gaza reported that 27 more Palestinians seeking food aid were killed...
Senate heads home with no deal to speed confirmations
WASHINGTON — The Senate left Washington Saturday night for its monthlong August recess without a deal to advance dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees, calling it quits after days of contentious bipartisan negotiations and Trump posting on social media that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer can “GO TO HELL!” Without...
Magnitude-3.0 earthquake shakes N.Y. area, USGS says
HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, N.J. — A small earthquake rattled the New York metropolitan area Saturday night. The U.S. Geological Survey said the tremor had a magnitude of 3.0. It hit in the New Jersey suburb of Hasbrouck Heights, less than 8 miles west of Central Park, at a depth of about...
Pope thrills hundreds of thousands of young Catholics at Holy Year youth festival
ROME — Pope Leo XIV urged hundreds of thousands of young people on Saturday to have the courage to make radical choices to do good, as he presided over his first big encounter with the next generation of Catholics during the highlight of the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year. Leo encountered...
Watchdog agency investigating ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith for alleged illegal political activity
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — An independent watchdog agency responsible for enforcing a law against partisan political activity by federal employees has opened an investigation into Jack Smith, the Justice Department special counsel who brought two criminal cases against then-candidate Donald Trump before his election to the White House last year. The...
Ohiopyle State Park tops list of nation’s ‘great-value stays’
Nine state parks in Pennsylvania have been listed among the United States’ best when it comes to getting the most bang for your buck. In fact, one topped the list. As conducted and published by HomeToGo, the list ranked Ohiopyle State Park in Fayette County as the No. 1 state...
Officials scour mountainous area of Montana for ex-U.S. soldier suspected of killing 4 in bar shooting
Authorities were scouring a mountainous area of western Montana on Saturday for a military veteran who they say opened fire at a bar, killing four people. Michael Paul Brown, 45, fled The Owl Bar in the small town of Anaconda in a white pickup truck but ditched it at some...
Israeli fire again kills Gaza aid-seekers as U.S. envoy meets with hostages’ families
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces opened fire near two aid distribution sites run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as crowds of hungry Palestinians again sought food, killing at least 10 people, witnesses and health workers said Saturday — a day after U.S. officials visited a GHF site...
Got the sniffles? Here’s what to know about summer colds, covid-19 and more
Summer heat, outdoor fun … and cold and flu symptoms? The three may not go together in many people’s minds: partly owing to common myths about germs and partly because many viruses really do have lower activity levels in the summer. But it is possible to get the sniffles —...
What to know if you’re at risk of having your wages garnished over student loan debt
NEW YORK — Millions of student borrowers could begin having their wages garnished as soon as this summer, according to estimates from credit bureau TransUnion. The company predicts that by August roughly 3 million borrowers could move into default, meaning they’re 270 days past due on payments. At that point,...
It’s Trump’s economy now. The latest financial numbers offer some warning signs
WASHINGTON — For all of President Donald Trump’s promises of an economic “golden age,” a spate of weak indicators this week told a potentially worrisome story as the impacts of his policies are coming into focus. Job gains are dwindling. Inflation is ticking upward. Growth has slowed compared to last...
Hempfield eyes sidewalks for Mt. Pleasant Road
Hempfield is eyeing sidewalk installation along sections of Mt. Pleasant Road to bolster pedestrian safety near the area’s neighborhoods, businesses, Pitt campus and future Weatherwood Park. The first phase of a proposed project, which could start in 2027, would add 13,000 square feet of 6-foot-wide sidewalk along the county-owned road...
Trump’s treason claim further erodes political discourse, experts say
President Donald Trump doubled down this week on an accusation that former President Barack Obama and members of his administration committed treason by misleading the public about Russian meddling in the 2016 election. While even Trump acknowledged that such a prosecution is unlikely, political analysts say the president’s explosive rhetoric...
Trump injects a new dose of uncertainty in tariffs as he pushes start date back to Aug. 7
WASHINGTON — For weeks, President Donald Trump was promising the world economy would change on Friday with his new tariffs in place. It was an ironclad deadline, administration officials assured the public. But when Trump signed the order Thursday night imposing new tariffs, the start date of the punishing import...
Democrats cry foul as Republicans push to redraw Texas electoral maps to gain U.S. House seats
AUSTIN, Texas — Democratic lawmakers tried to build a case Friday that Republicans in Texas have engineered a rushed and unfair process for redrawing the state’s congressional districts in response to a push by President Donald Trump to win more GOP seats that Democrats fear will spread to other states....
Trump removes official overseeing jobs data after dismal employment report
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform, alleged that the...
Corporation for Public Broadcasting to shut down after being defunded by Congress, targeted by Trump
WASHINGTON — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a cornerstone of American culture for three generations, announced Friday it would take steps toward its own closure after being defunded by Congress — marking the end of a nearly six-decade era in which it fueled the production of renowned educational programming, cultural...